Oakland Youth Orchestra Presents 50th Season, Now thru 5/16

On the heels of a successful inaugural tour to Argentina and Uruguay this summer, Artistic Director Michael Morgan has announced details of the Oakland Youth Orchestra's 2013-2014 50th anniversary season.

The award-winning Oakland Youth Orchestra will perform seven concerts of four different programs including the world premiere of a commissioned new work by American composer Nathaniel Stookey, Berlioz' monumental Requiem with the Oakland East Bay Symphony, Oakland Symphony Chorus and guest artists, a performance by Oakland Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition winners, its annual benefit gala, participation in the Bay of Hope Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival and more. Performances will be given at various venues in Oakland, Walnut Creek and San Francisco, including Davies Symphony Hall and Oakland's Paramount Theatre, conducted by Michael Morgan and Oakland East Bay Symphony Assistant Conductor Bryan Nies. A complete season schedule may be found below, and all concerts except for the Berlioz Requiem are free of charge thanks to the generous donor and community support.

"The Oakland Youth Orchestra is still young at 50 this season," says Artistic Director Michael Morgan, "and our accomplished artists are playing at an all-time high level of technical mastery and performance sophistication. The season features some thrilling music, exciting new works, new and alumni guest artists and the brand of galvanizing dedication and passion that have been our hallmarks for decades."

Oakland Youth Orchestra 2013-2014 50th Season Schedule
Michael Morgan, Artistic Director and Conductor
Bryan Nies, Conductor

FALL CONCERT

Today, November 2, 2013, at 3 pm

Allen Temple Baptist Church, Oakland

Sunday, November 3, 2013, at 3 pm
Holy Names University, Oakland

Hallie Jo Gist, Flute
Jo Griffin, Violin

PROGRAM
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9

Wagner (1813-1883): Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1868)
Frank Martin (1890-1974) : Ballade for Flute, Piano and Strings (1941), with Oakland Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition winner Hallie Jo Gist, Flute
Barber (1910-1981): Violin Concerto (1939) (first movement) with Oakland Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition winner Jo Griffin, Violin.

BAY OF HOPE BAY AREA YOUTH ORCHESTRA FESTIVAL
Sunday, January 19, 2014 at 3 pm
Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco

Program to be announced

WINTER CONCERT

Saturday, February 1, 2014, at 1 pm
Rossmoor, Del Valle Club house, Walnut Creek

Sunday, February 2, 2014, 2014
San Leandro Art Center, San Leandro

Emil Miland, Cello

PROGRAM
Nathaniel Stookey (b. 1970): world premiere (title TBA)

Elgar (1857-1934): Cello Concerto in E minor (1918-1919) with Oakland Youth Orchestra Alumnus Emil Miland.

GALA CONCERT AND BENEFIT AUCTION

Saturday, March 8, 2014 at Greek Orthodox Church, Oakland

Reception/Silent Auction at 5:30pm

ANNIVERSARY SEASON FINALE: BERLIOZ' REQUIEM

Friday, May 16, 2014, at 8 pm
Paramount Theatre, Oakland

Berlioz (1803-1869): Requiem (1837)
Thomas Glenn, tenor
Oakland Symphony Chorus, Lynne Morrow, Music Director
Oakland Youth Orchestra, Michael Morgan, Artistic Director

Every inch of the historic Paramount Theatre stage will brim with music to mark the anniversaries of the Oakland East Bay Symphony (25) in the grandest of styles as Maestro Morgan musters the full complement of Oakland East Bay Symphony, Oakland Youth Orchestra (50), Oakland Symphony Chorus (55) and Grammy-winning guest artist Thomas Glenn for Berlioz' monumental Requiem.

The 2013-2014 season of the Oakland Youth Orchestra offers unbeatable artistry by local youths. For more information, visit www.oyo.org.

About Oakland Youth Orchestra

Founded in 1964 as the educational arm of the Oakland Symphony, Oakland Youth Orchestra is recognized as an outstanding musical organization in Oakland and San Francisco. The Youth Orchestra features seventy-five talented music students aged 12 to 22 from throughout the region. Oakland Youth Orchestra maintains a commitment to cultural exchange and has toured extensively in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean Islands, Costa Rica, Mexico and Cuba, Italy, Australia and New Zealand, Greece and, most recently in 2013, Argentina and Uruguay. In addition the organization has a history of commissioning, premiering and recording the works of American composers. Oakland Youth Orchestra is a member of the American Symphony Orchestra League, Arts First Oakland, ASCAP, Association of California Symphony Orchestras, BMI and Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Oakland Youth Orchestra is affiliated with Oakland East Bay Symphony and Oakland Symphony Chorus.

Photo Credit: Son Lu

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